Featured Blu-ray Review: Everybody's Fine

Everybody's Fine was one of the last films released by Miramax. It came out on the home market just as Blu-ray was taking over. However, it was only released on DVD. This week, the Blu-ray comes out, so I can update my previous review for its high definition debut. Is it worth the upgrade?

The Movie

First a very short recap of the film's plot and my previous opinion. The film stars Robert De Niro stars as Frank, a widower / retiree. He's preparing a special dinner for his four kids, David, Amy, Robert, and Rosie, who are all traveling from around the country to be with him. After they all cancel, he decides to travel to meet them individually, despite the warnings from his doctor that the travel and stress could end up killing him. However, none of them are really happy to see him, as they've all got bad news they are trying to hide from him, and have been keeping from him for a long time. On the other hand, he's also keeping secret the bad news about his health. It's a family that lies to avoid disappointing others. But that has to change, right?

Like I said before, this is a low-key movie. It's not a bad movie and does feature some good performances, but there's not enough here to truly grab your attention and hold it for 100 minutes. There are a few miscalculations in the script (dream sequences) but for the most part Everybody's Fine merely lives up to its name. It's fine.

The Extras

The Blu-ray is shovelware and there are not a lot of extras. Things start with 12 minutes of deleted and extended scenes and end with a 10-minute making of featurette about the theme song. That's not a lot.

I'm more impressed by the film's technical presentation. The video is very good with a high level of details, deep blacks, bright colors, etc. It was shot in digital high definition, so it should come as no surprise that its high definition transfer is great. It's not a visually showy movie, but there are not problems here either. The audio is likewise very good, but not complicated. It is a dialogue driven drama with excellent clarity, but it is very much a front-and-center track. There's not a lot of ambient sounds throughout.

The Blu-ray costs $13 on Amazon.com, which again is fine for shovelware.

The Verdict

If you were interested in Everybody's Fine but thought you would wait for the Blu-ray to come out before buying, then you didn't have to wait too long. The Blu-ray is shovelware, but the technical presentation is good and the price is right.